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IDCoM PhD student Euan Ward has received an award worth up to £80,000 from a body that backs emerging technologies.
Euan, a PhD student in the Institute for Digital Communications (IDCoM) at the University’s School of Engineering, is seeking to improve the reliability of low cost radar systems.
He is one of 12 gifted UK research scientists and engineers to receive an Industrial Fellowship from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
Improving safety
Euan is researching a solution that will allow modern radars to operate in environments crowded with radio frequency energy.
It is hoped this will not only improve radars but increase the safety of driverless cars.
The award enables researchers to bring their projects towards commercialisation. It has been supervised by Professor Bernard Mulgrew and co-funded by global hi-tech giant Leonardo.
Advancing research
Other technologies funded by the Fellowship include a ‘photocopier’ that helps white blood cells grow and a machine learning model that could help nudge consumers towards healthier purchasing habits.
A temperature-sensing coating that can map the inside of a jet engine to enable more fuel efficient gas turbines has also been backed.
The projects, funded for up to three years, will ideally lead to a patent or substantial business development.
Valuable experience
They will allow the young researchers to conduct impactful research while gaining valuable industrial experience.
The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 offers major awards to scientists and engineers for research, development and design.
Established by Prince Albert, it has previously funded luminaries such as Nobel laureates Professor Peter Higgs, Sir James Chadwick and Paul Dirac.
Euan said he was very grateful for the tremendous support from the University of Edinburgh and his sponsoring company.
"The additional funding will enable me to conduct novel experiments and travel to leading international conferences to present my findings."
Euan Ward PhD student at the University of Edinburgh
"It is critical that the young scientists and engineers that form the future innovation landscape of Britain are supported in their efforts."
Bernard Taylor, Chairman of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851
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